News24 | Last chance to nominate your favourite for Mzansi Insect of the Year

Nominations for the Mzansi Insect of the Year close on Sunday.

Graphic: Mihle Mdashe/News24. Image credit: Universal Images Group via Getty Images; Luisr's Photo/Getty Images via Canva

This is your last chance to nominate your favourite for the Mzansi Insect of the Year competition.

Nominations close on Sunday at 17:00, after which they will be scrutinised by a panel of experts from the Entomological Society of Southern Africa and News24.

They will select a shortlist, which will be announced on 16 October, and then it will be time to vote for the winner.

The winning insect will be announced on 28 October, and it will not be the only winner on the day. There are gift packs for three people who nominated their favourite insect.

Open the nomination form here and follow the instructions.

Read more about the role insects play in our lives here.

Insects are the most successful animals on Earth, but are constantly under threat.

They pollinate crops and wild plants, recycle nutrients by breaking down dead organic matter, help keep soils healthy, filter and support freshwater ecosystems, and form the foundation of many food webs.

Without insects, humans and other animals would struggle to survive.

Here is what you can do to help them:

• Plant indigenous plants and flowers to attract insects.
• Leave the leaves! You can use leaves as mulch in your garden; this will help with soil moisture and also provide a home to all the decomposers. You can also leave some log piles or create a compost heap to attract decomposers.
• Convert lawns into natural habitats.
• Join invasive plant clearing days, hosted by organisations such as the Mountain Club of South Africa.
• Try using natural remedies instead of pesticides. For example, you can remove larger pests such as snails by hand and can control some pests on plants with natural mixes. Weeds can be removed with hot water or steam instead of a herbicide. On larger farms, integrated pest management can be considered, which involves the use of biocontrol agents and other pest control methods.
• Limit outside lighting where possible, by switching to motion-activated lights or bulbs that produce wavelengths less attractive to insects (such as red light).
• Create habitats for insects and small pollinators such as solitary bees.

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